It’s finished! I completed the jacket I told you all about. It’s a Chanel-style jacket and I must say, I love it! Not only the vibrant color, but the style and ease of wear. This was far easier to sew than I thought it would be when I started making it. I combined two of the views because I wanted shorter sleeves and patch pockets along with the shorter length. Although I never could find the trim I really wanted, I found some satin ribbon that was almost the same color as the fabric, so that’s what I used. I also did something I’ve never done before: LOTS of hand sewing. I actually followed the instructions and sewed sections by hand where it suggested. Usually that’s something I try to avoid. So, for example, the sleeve lining is attached by hand. For those of you who get the Vogue Patterns magazine, the April/May issue has a “hand stitches primer” article on what stitches to use where and how to do them. This was very helpful for me, since I had forgotten (or never knew) how to do many of these stitches.

This jacket is something that can be worn with jeans or with a skirt or over a dress. I definitely want to make another probably from something of a boulce-type fabric for cooler days. The material used for this is a washable, linen-like fabric I bought at JoAnn’s a couple of years ago.